Maldives: Politically-motivated convictions of former president, former Supreme Court judges

“These convictions are politically-motivated, and the product of trials that did not meet international standards – they must be quashed immediately.

“The Maldivian government appears to be using the courts to exact revenge for the 1st February 2018 judgement that ordered the release and retrial of key opposition politicians.

“Instead of implementing that judgement, the government has doubled down on political repression by throwing the chief justice and another judge behind bars, along with a former president, in a process that travesties justice rather than upholding it.”

Background

On 1 February, the Maldivian Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that ordered the release and retrial of key opposition politicians, including former President Mohamed Nasheed, after finding that they had been subject to unfair trials that did not meet international standards.

On 5 February, the Maldivian government imposed a 45-day long state of emergency and arrested Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed. The authorities also arrested former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom